Morning Briefing: Boras Says Soto Signing is Not Imminent

Good morning, Mets fans!

There’s been some misinformation floating around social media, but Juan Soto’s agent Scott Boras clarified that Soto has “begun the process of eliminating teams,” and his signing isn’t imminent. Additionally, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic learned that bidding for the star slugger has reached $600 million.

Latest Mets News

Some awards given to Mets: The 2024 Mets collectively received the Joe DiMaggio Toast of the Town Award for Jose Iglesias’ hit song “OMG” while southpaw Sean Manaea won the Ben Epstein/Dan Castellano Good Guy Award for helping reporters.

Jay Horwitz sat down with aspiring Hall of Famer Billy Wagner to talk about some of the Hall of Fame process. Wagner came just five votes shy of the required 75% for induction last year.

On Tuesday, former Met Glendon Rusch was announced as the Glacier Range Riders’ new pitching coach. Rusch, a 12-year veteran, was recruited by Todd Pratt to join the coaching staff, per the Range Riders’ official website.

Latest MLB News

Mass Live’s Chris Cotillo was first to tweet the Red Sox progressing talks with Aroldis Chapman, while Jeff Passan confirmed the reported agreement of one year, $10.75 million for the veteran lefty. The 36-year-old still averages 98.7 mph on his fastball and is coming off a strong season with the Pirates, striking out 98 over 61 2/3 innings.

Eight teams, including the Yankees, are interested in reliever Tommy Kahnle’s services, per Jon Heyman. Kahnle is an unusual pitcher who utilizes his changeup as his primary weapon, and it’s been unhittable. Batters only managed a measly .157 batting average against it in 2024.

KBO infielder Hyeseong Kim is expected to be posted by the Kiwoom Heroes on Wednesday, reports Jon Morosi of MLB Network. Kim will have a 30-day window to sign with an MLB team this winter.

According to Jeff Passan, the Royals will stay with Diamond Sports Group as their TV broadcaster, at least for the 2025 season. Passan also notes that Kansas City was the final team to pick a TV partner.

MLB awarded the Washington Nationals the 2024 Allan H. Selig Award for Philanthropic Excellence for supporting over 6,000 youth in underserved neighborhoods.

Katie Woo of The Athletic reported that multiple sources believe the Cardinals are more likely to trade Nolan Arenado than retain him, though a trade may not happen immediately.

Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said that non-tendering longtime closer Jordan Romano was a “very difficult” decision, and the team is still looking to re-sign the reliever. He’s coming off an injury-shortened 2024 season in which he was limited to 13 2/3 innings. However, it’s worth noting that Atkins said that Toronto had no medical concerns regarding Romano.

The Dodgers now owe over $1 billion in deferred payments to just seven players. This includes recently signed pitcher Blake Snell ($66 million payable through 2046) and Tommy Edman ($25 million payable through 2044).

Latest on MMO

David Melendi explored a possible rule change: The Golden At-Bat.

Jack Sargente reviewed outfielder Tyrone Taylor’s 2024 season.

On This Date in Mets History

2019: Steve Cohen publicly announced negotiations with the Wilpons to purchase a larger stake in the Mets.

Born On This Date: Tucker Ashford (1954), Stan Jefferson (1962), Carlos Gómez (1985), Paul Blackburn (1993).

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